Yosemite

You may wonder what’s taking me so long to blog about Yosemite. You see, I had to weed through three days worth of pictures. That was no easy task my friends. Then, I had to condense all that beauty down into a sizable amount to share with you. These pictures are completely unaltered except when auto enhance was needed. So without further ado, I present to you Yosemite.

As I typed in the title ‘Yosemite’ I honestly felt I was doing an injustice. How can eight simple letters combine together to give this place the attention it deserves. I want to type ‘Yosemite is the most amazing place in the world’ or ‘Yosemite National Park is like nothing else you’ve ever seen’.

But in the end, I didn’t even add National Park to the title. Because as I thought about it, it’s the simplicity that explains this place. It’s simply stunning, simply amazing, simply beautiful, simply there in all it’s amazing glory. It’s been left in its simple raw state and that is where the beauty lies.

On our first day here, we went out to explore and get started on the Junior Ranger Badge. We entered the park from the west side onto Big Oak Flat Road. We could see the remnants from a wildfire that occurred in 2013. We could also see signs of the recent snowfall in the higher elevations. 

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from Yosemite. My knowledge was pretty limited and I didn’t research it much. I just knew it was supposed to be beautiful. How naïve could one be! You know how I keep saying you have to go here, you have to go there? Well let me just say, once again, you HAVE to go to Yosemite in your lifetime. No if’s and’s or butts about it, GO!

After our first day exploring the park, I was speechless. Yosemite is a place of incomprehensible beauty that envelops you from all sides. From the towering granite cliffs to the flowing waterfalls, Yosemite is like no other.

I honestly border on describing it as one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever encountered. But I’m a soul that has a really, really hard time settling on just one of anything. I love and cherish so many things. 

However, Yosemite has tugged, no yanked really hard on my heartstrings. I have been wrapped in her awe-inspiring gorgeous ways and once again I’m transformed. My heart has truly skipped a few beats.

Perhaps it’s because it reminds me so much of my birthplace in upstate New York. The rippling rivers littered with smooth rocks. Or perhaps it’s the towering pines filling the air with that amazing scent. Or the untouched natural beauty allowed to just be.

But in all actuality, I think it’s the depth and breadth of all of these things that makes Yosemite so special. Everything around you is so grand, so incomprehensible. Everywhere you turn, there is another picture to be taken. You really can’t be a bad photographer here. The subject is simply too amazing.

As we rose higher in elevation, snow banks lined the side of the road. We later learned it was the first time in over four years they’ve had snowfall. The road was well maintained and snow free. On our first day, we were lucky to have a fairly warm, sunny day in the high 50’s.

This made it pleasant to go out and throw some snow around, hike a little and stop and get out to take pictures. I remembered the kid’s gloves so they were happy!

Around every bend in the road it seemed like there was a picture waiting to be taken. Some roads were closed for the winter. On our first day we followed the road straight down into Yosemite Valley.

On our way, we saw valley views, waterfalls, enormous granite cliffs and several of the well-known icons. These included Half Dome, El Capitan, Lembert Dome, Bridalveil Falls, and the upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

To our surprise, there was water gushing out of all of the well-known waterfalls. After all was said and done, I was glad we came in the winter.

The snow dotting the landscape added to the amazing charm of Yosemite. It felt magical and highlighted the massive cliffs, beautiful pines and lower valley floor. We also had the added drama of cold foggy mist moving in on day two and three. And the extra bonus was the lack of crowds.

Our first day was surreal and we drove out of the park amazed that such a place existed in the world. The kids asked, “Can we please come back again tomorrow?” Yep, she touched us all.

We had been warned when we checked into the campground that on Friday, it was going to rain all day and pretty hard at times. So we planned to hunker down in the RV. I promised to make the kids rice balls and I made sure I had all the ingredients.

It ended up raining all day and most of the night. But my heart was happy. Why? Because I knew that a lot of rain = a lot of water, which = gushing waterfalls! I couldn’t wait to head out to the park the next day. The only thing I could hope for was that the rain stopped.

The next day the waterfalls were definitely full of water. But in all actuality, I think our third day in Yosemite is when they really peaked. And while it was raining where we were, it was snowing in the higher elevations. So we were able to see fresh snow glistening from the pine boughs.

On Day two, we were also able to get some great foggy pictures as the warm and cold came together and another storm front loomed in the air. It was lightly snowing when we drove home in the darkness.

On our final day we finished up the Junior Ranger Badge by attending a bear walk. We all learned a lot and the ranger was so funny. It was bittersweet having to leave Yosemite. But boy did she put on a show.

Our last day, the lighting was simply amazing. It was lighting up the trees, granite cliffs and more in ribbons of beauty. I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life.

As we were driving out of the park, we kept having to stop to snap yet one more amazing photo. We didn’t want to leave and she wasn’t ready to let us go. Every angle, every cliff, every turn played differently with the light. It was very, very surreal.

We spotted four coyotes while we were here. We were able to snap pictures of two of them. The coyote in the top picture was very brave. It ran through the residential section of Yosemite Village near the visitors center. I guess they’re getting hungry :-0.

And that my loyal readers wraps up Yosemite. If you’ve never been, I hope I was able to share some of her beauty with you. We are currently hanging out at Half Moon Bay State Beach. We’ve been to San Francisco once to explore Chinatown. But boy did we pick the exact wrong time to be here. I’ll explain when we meet again.

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{HUGS} from the Crew!